Our Team
Management Team
Akshat Pandya
Head – Real Estate Investments Fund
He has an experience of over 19 years of real estate private equity, investment banking and construction finance experience in India.
Prior to joining Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Limited in July 2013, Akshat was Vice President real estate investment banking at ENAM / AXIS Capital (Sep 2009 – Jun 2013) where he was part of a ~USD 1 billion fund raise via initial public offerings.
Before ENAM, he worked with the Real Estate Prop Investments book at Lehman Brothers/ Nomura (July 2007 – July 2009) and prior to that with HDFC Limited in their developer finance team (May 2004 – Jun 2007).
Nikhil Toprani
Chief Financial Officer, Aditya Birla Real Estate Fund
Over 14 years of experience in private equity, finance and treasury management
Has worked with Fidelity Growth Partners India, Blue River Capital, Tata Capital and KPMG
Nikhil is a qualified Chartered Accountant from ICAI, ICWA and CFA and holds a Bachelors degree in Commerce from Mumbai University
Amit Kumar
Head Fund Raising, Aditya Birla Real Estate Fund
Senior professional having with over 17 years of experience in fund raising and investor relations in both domestic and international markets
Prior to joining Aditya Birla Amit has worked with institutions like Milestone Capital, Deutsche Bank & DSP Merrill Lynch. In his previous stint he was heading fund raising and investor relations function for Amplus Capital which is a Real estate AIF sponsored by promoters of Arvind Ltd.
Amit has completed his B com (H) and M Com from Delhi University and MBA Finance from IMT Ghaziabad.
Sriram Ganeshan
Principal – Investments, Real Estate
Sriram has over 10 years of experience in real estate, private equity investments, investment banking, fund raising and corporate strategy in India.
He has led and executed investments in excess of > $ 250 million, has been a part of transactions > $ 1 billion
Prior to Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, he has worked with Brookfield for 5 years in various roles including as Vice President in the Brookfield-Peninsula domestic Fund and as Associate in Brookfield Financial before that. He has also worked with Karvy on their real estate fund platform and was a pioneer in NCD transactions in real estate; and prior to that with Ernst & Young on their advisory platform.
He has an MBA (specializing in Finance) from IIM Ahmedabad and Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Roorkee
Mr. Sushil Agarwal
Sushil Agarwal is the Whole Time Director & CFO of Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd. (ABNL), a USD 4 billion diversified conglomerate and one of the flagship companies of the Aditya Birla Group. He is also a member of the Business Review Council, which is an institutionalized mechanism for bringing in wider managerial perspectives and leadership experiences, into reviewing the development, growth and operations of the Aditya Birla Group's businesses.
Sushil has been with the Aditya Birla Group since the beginning of his career in 1989 and has distinction of working closely with the former Chairman Late Mr. Aditya Vikram Birla and current Chairman Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla. He has richly contributed in many Restructuring, Mergers and Acquisitions initiatives of the Aditya Birla Group with his widely acknowledged financial acumen and analytical skills. In recognition of his stellar contribution he was honoured with the Chairman's Exceptional Contributor Award in 2000 and Outstanding Leadership Award in 2014.
He played an important role in the acquisition of Columbian Chemicals Company, which made Aditya Birla Group the World's largest Carbon Black player. He played a key role in the recent acquisition of Pantaloons Fashion business which strengthened ABNL's leadership position in the Fashion & Lifestyle industry. He was recognized for excellence by 'CFO 100' under the category 'Winning Edge in Strategy' in 2011 and 'Winning Edge in M&A' in 2014. In 2013, he was named among India's best CFOs by Business Today in the category "Enhancing Competitiveness through M&A".
He has also worked as Chief Executive Officer for Aditya Birla Finance Ltd., the NBFC arm and Aditya Birla Insurance Brokers Ltd., the general insurance advisory arm.
Sushil is on the board of several companies and is widely networked. He is familiar with operations in most states in India and several countries abroad through his experience of about 25 years. Sushil is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Masters in Commerce.

Mr. Pankaj Jawaharlal Razdan

Mr. Pankaj Jawaharlal Razdan
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Mr. A Dhananjaya

Mr. A Dhananjaya
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Mr. Pankaj Razdan
Deputy Chief Executive, Aditya Birla Capital Limited
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance
Pankaj Razdan has been with the Aditya Birla Group since July 2007. In his role as the Deputy Chief Executive, Financial services, he is a part of the core think tank that strategizes and executes Aditya Birla Group's growth in the financial services business.

At ABCL, Pankaj has steered some of the key financial services verticals through challenging times successfully. He has guided ABSLI to an industry leadership position. He has also driven many key projects across ABCL to help set a foundation for our leadership in the Indian financial services industry.

Prior to joining the Aditya Birla Group, Pankaj was with ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company since 1998, taking charge as the Managing Director in 2004. Pankaj’s experience and insights have been honed over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. He began his career as an engineer at Nelco Limited and later moved to Karvy Consultants where he started his financial services career and served various assignments. He has been a recipient of several personal and professional recognitions including recognition as ‘India’s Hottest Young Executives’ by Business Today.

Pankaj has a B.Sc. degree in Electronics from Pune University and is a graduate in Electronics Engineering from Bombay University. He has undergone management development programmes from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and leadership training from Centre of Leadership, USA.
Mr. A. Dhananjaya
Chief Compliance and Risk Officer
A. Dhananjaya has been with the Aditya Birla Group since January 2008. In his role as the Chief Compliance and Risk Officer, Aditya Birla Capital Limited, Dhananjaya is responsible for overseeing the compliance and risk functions across all financial services businesses. This includes credit risk, investment risk, operational risk, regulatory affairs, corporate governance etc.

Dhananjaya has over three decades of experience working across various industries and companies, including ABN Amro Bank, Bank of America, MMTC of India and Mukand Iron and Steel Works Limited. In his last role at ABN Amro, Dhananjaya headed the compliance function of ABN Amro Group in India, consisting of a Bank, an AMC, an NBFC and a stock broking company. Prior to that, he performed a consulting assignment for ABN Amro Bank in Indonesia, which involved setting up an operational risk management function for Basel II readiness for the largest state owned bank in that country - Bank Mandiri.

Dhananjaya completed his B. Tech degree from Karnataka Regional Engineering College, Surathkal and PGDM from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
Mr. Pankaj Jawaharlal Razdan
Pankaj Razdan has been with the Aditya Birla Group since July 2007
In his role as the Deputy Chief Executive, Financial Services, he is a part of the core think tank that strategises and operationalises the Aditya Birla Group's growth in the financial services business.
At ABFS, Pankaj has steered some of the key financial services verticals successfully despite the challenging times. He has guided Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company to an industry leadership position. He has also driven many key projects across ABFSG, to help set a foundation for our leadership in the Indian financial services industry.
In his role at Birla Sun Life Insurance, Pankaj provides BSLI strategic direction and leads the insurance team towards achieving rapid growth and profitability. As BSLI gears for its next phase of growth, the Company will benefit from his experience and expertise in growing businesses, developing new business models, building distribution efficiency and customer management.
Prior to joining the Aditya Birla Group, Pankaj was with ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company since 1998, taking charge as the Managing Director in 2004. Pankaj's experience and insights have been honed over 15 years of experience in the Financial Services industry.
He began his career as an engineer at Nelco Ltd. He later moved to Karvy Consultants where he started his financial services career and served various assignments.
He has been a recipient of several personal and professional recognitions including being recognized as 'India's Hottest Young Executives' by Business Today.
Pankaj has a B.Sc. degree in Electronics from Pune University and is a graduate in Electronics Engineering from Bombay University. He has undergone management development programs from IIM Ahmedabad and leadership training from Centre of Leadership, USA.

Mr. Sandeep Asthana

Mr. Sandeep Asthana
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Mr. Dileep C. Choksi

Mr. Dileep C. Choksi
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Mr. Shailesh Vaidya

Mr. Shailesh Vaidya
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Mr. Guru Prasad Kohli

Mr. Guru Prasad Kohli
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Mr. Sandeep Asthana
Sandeep Asthana is the India Country Head of Sun Life Financial. In this role Sandeep manages Sun Life's interest in its two joint ventures in India - Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd., and Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co. Ltd.
A Chemical Engineer from IIT Mumbai and MBA from IIM Lucknow, Sandeep started his career with Unit Trust of India in 1993, and was closely involved with its plans for entry into life insurance and pensions. He joined Zurich Financial Services in 2000, and headed the life insurance planning team. In 2003, Sandeep joined RGA and built up RGA's business in India to make it a leading reinsurance partner for life and health insurers in India. Prior to joining Sun Life, Sandeep was Managing Director of RGA Services India Pvt. Ltd.
Mr. Dileep C. Choksi
Mr. Dileep C. Choksi is a chartered accountant by profession and has been in practice for over 35 years. His areas of specialization include tax advisory and litigation, structuring of collaborations and joint ventures, executive advisory and decision support, and corporate restructuring with a focus on start-up, turnaround and change management strategies. He also advises some of India’s largest business houses on various strategic matters, including family succession and on wills and trusts. Mr. Choksi was the former Joint Managing Partner of Deloitte in India till 2008, before the setting up of C.C. Chokshi Advisors Pvt. Ltd. of which he is the Chief Mentor.
Mr. Choksi is on the Board of companies like Arvind Limited, AIA Engineering Limited, Hexaware Technologies Limited, ICICI Bank Limited, ICICI Home Finance Company Limited, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited, Lupin Limited, Swaraj Engines Limited and Tata Housing Development Company Limited.
Mr. Choksi is also a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
He is also a trustee of Anchorage, an institute for the rehabilitation of the mentally challenged.
Mr. Choksi is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Bachelor of Law, Member of the Institute of the Cost and Works Accountants of India.
Mr. Shailesh Vaidya
Mr. Vaidya is a practising Advocate and Solicitor. He is a partner in Messrs. Kanga and Company, a reputed firm of Advocates & Solicitors, which is more than 125 years old law firm in Mumbai. He has completed his law graduation from Government Law College, Mumbai in the year 1981 and became a Solicitor in the year 1983. He is a partner of Messrs. Kanga and Company, Solicitors, since the year 1985.
In his professional capacity, Mr. Vaidya is a Director in several public / private limited companies, including Siyaram Silk Mills Limited, Apcotex Industries Limited, Excel Industries Limited, Premier Limited, etc. He specialises in Property and Corporate Law matters. His name and firm reference features in "Guide to the World's Leading Real Estate Lawyers" 7th Edition, published by Legal Media Group, United Kingdom. His firm has been awarded India Business Law Journal Award for best legal practice in "Construction and Real Estate" from 2008 to 2014. His firm is also ranked by LEGAL 500 as one of the top Firms in Real Estate. Asia Law, 2014 mentions him as a leading lawyer in Real Estate.
Mr.Vaidya is a past President of the prestigious Indian Merchant’s Chamber.
Mr. Guru Prasad Kohli
Mr. Kohli is the former Managing Director of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and has vast experience in insurance, housing, human resource development, information technology and marketing. He has also been on the board of companies and corporations like Delhi Finance Corporation, Delhi Co-operative Housing Board, Larsen and Toubro, Ballarpur Industries Limited, ECE Limited, National Insurance Academy – Pune, Usher Eco Power Limited, Zuari Finance et al.
Mr. Kohli was conferred with Media India Chandran Award 1994 for best communicator for the year and Rajiv Gandhi National Award 1995 for distinct contribution to the areas of communication and national awareness for corporate citizenship.
Mr. Kohli, presently, is in the board of Dewan Housing and Finance Limited (DHFL), DHFL Insurance Services, DHFL Vysya Housing Finance, was member of Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, was member of Hospital Committee Bhakti Vedanta Hospital Mumbai and Trustee of Yusuf Mehrally Centre, a social organisation committed towards corporate value creation in rural development.
He is also a management and editorial consultant with specialisation in marketing, HR development and organization re-engineering. Mr. Kohli holds a Master’s degree in Arts and a diploma in Labour Laws, and is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad